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  #126  
Old 06-24-2014, 04:51 PM
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Default Re: Universal Renewable Energy: Suitable Substitute for Morning Sex?

So why are they so damn reflective anyway? :chin: Shouldn't they be absorbing all that light instead of reflecting?
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  #127  
Old 06-24-2014, 05:08 PM
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Default Re: Universal Renewable Energy: Suitable Substitute for Morning Sex?

No, Crumb. If it absorbed all the sunlight then the sun would just go out. GOD, read a book or something.
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  #128  
Old 06-24-2014, 05:15 PM
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Default Re: Universal Renewable Energy: Suitable Substitute for Morning Sex?

:clever:
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  #129  
Old 06-25-2014, 01:12 AM
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Default Re: Universal Renewable Energy: Suitable Substitute for Morning Sex?

Just culling the less fit of the flocks.
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  #130  
Old 06-30-2014, 03:41 PM
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Default Re: Universal Renewable Energy: Suitable Substitute for Morning Sex?

Elon Musk To Build World’s Largest Solar Panel Plant | Alternet

Elon Musk is with Solar City and Tesla Motors. So, they are going to have the best electric cars, the biggest battery factory, and now the biggest solar power plant. I wonder if they're up to something?

I think I read something about Elon making a bunch of his patents open to fair use free of charge too.
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  #131  
Old 07-02-2014, 03:58 PM
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Default Re: Universal Renewable Energy: Suitable Substitute for Morning Sex?

One important benefit of renewables is that they save water. Lots of water.

In Grim California Drought, Renewables a Bright Spot | Climate Denial Crock of the Week

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CleanTechnica:

One of wind energy’s most overlooked benefits is that it requires virtually no water to produce electricity, while almost all other electricity sources evaporate tremendous amounts of water. In 2008, the nation’s thermal power plants withdrew 22 to 62 trillion gallons of freshwater from rivers, lakes, streams, and aquifers, and consumed 1 to 2 trillion gallons. By displacing generation from these conventional power plants, U.S. wind energy currently saves around 35 billion gallons of water per year, the equivalent of 120 gallons per person or 285 billion bottles of water.

Wind energy’s water-saving benefits have received increased attention in recent weeks, with record wind and solar output helping to keep the lights on amidst the severe drought afflicting California and a new Department of Energy report focused on the energy-water nexus:
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  #132  
Old 07-10-2014, 07:47 PM
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Default Re: Universal Renewable Energy: Suitable Substitute for Morning Sex?

Tesla Museum update:
So, I had a call with Elon Musk earlier this week - The Oatmeal
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  #133  
Old 07-11-2014, 02:31 AM
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Default Re: Universal Renewable Energy: Suitable Substitute for Morning Sex?

How is Elon Musk a person and not a cologne? I can never get past that.
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  #134  
Old 07-11-2014, 10:02 PM
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Default Re: Universal Renewable Energy: Suitable Substitute for Morning Sex?

I'd buy one of his cars, but it's currently out of my price range for basically a commuter car. Even though I could hook it up to one of the plug in stations outside and drive for free after paying $69,000-$110,000 for the car. I could do that with any plug in hybrid and drive for free when I don't bike in.

Given the way cell coverage came to my state. We'd have a quick charging station along the interstate some time around 2030. So I'd be able to drive the car basically in a 100-170 mile trip to see the family before I mooched fuel off my parents or in-laws. I might make it to my parents and back.

Plus, I'm not sure I like the who concept of them downloading updates to it either. Microsoft Car gives me the shudders.
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  #135  
Old 07-12-2014, 12:17 AM
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Default Re: Universal Renewable Energy: Suitable Substitute for Morning Sex?

Tesla to introduce new $30,000 compact sedan as EV company expands its charging network | Digital Trends
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  #136  
Old 07-12-2014, 12:18 AM
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Default Re: Universal Renewable Energy: Suitable Substitute for Morning Sex?

I'm pretty sure it will be over $40,000 by the time it makes it to market, or they won't make any money on it.
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  #137  
Old 09-23-2014, 10:46 PM
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Default Re: Universal Renewable Energy: Suitable Substitute for Morning Sex?

There's another new kind of battery being tried out to store peaks of solar and/or wind energy. It consists of a tank of three liquid materials floating one on top of the other, like oil and water do. So it's no good as a mobile battery, but can store lots of energy pretty cheaply.

The drawback is that the liquids are molten metals or salts, so it has to be kept hot.

The heaviest material, on the bottom is mostly plain old lead - like in your car battery, but molten. The lead is laced with antimony - and it's the antimony that does most of the battery work - but lead is cheaper and melts at a lower temperature so it works better than pure antimony.

Next up comes a layer of molten salt - pretty much like normal table salt.

On the top is a layer of liquid lithium. When the battery is fully charged the lithium disappears - it migrates down through the salt layer and binds with the antimony. As the battery is discharged the lithium separates and floats back to the top.

The article I read about it didn't say what happens if the battery is allowed to cool down when it's in its charged state - I don't know if this would be a way of sealing in the stored energy, or maybe it would cause the battery to self discharge or explode or whatever. :shrug:
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  #138  
Old 09-24-2014, 11:30 AM
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Default Re: Universal Renewable Energy: Suitable Substitute for Morning Sex?

These questions need to be answered!
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  #139  
Old 11-25-2014, 02:58 AM
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Default Re: Universal Renewable Energy: Suitable Substitute for Morning Sex?

Good News for Mother Earth: Solar, Wind Power Becoming Cheaper Than Fossil Fuels | BillMoyers.com

Quote:
For the solar and wind industries in the United States, it has been a long-held dream: to produce energy at a cost equal to conventional sources like coal and natural gas.That day appears to be dawning.

The cost of providing electricity from wind and solar power plants has plummeted over the last five years, so much so that in some markets renewable generation is now cheaper than coal or natural gas.

Utility executives say the trend has accelerated this year, with several companies signing contracts, known as power purchase agreements, for solar or wind at prices below that of natural gas, especially in the Great Plains and Southwest, where wind and sunlight are abundant.

Those prices were made possible by generous subsidies that could soon diminish or expire, but recent analyses show that even without those subsidies, alternative energies can often compete with traditional sources.
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  #140  
Old 11-25-2014, 12:12 PM
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Default Re: Universal Renewable Energy: Suitable Substitute for Morning Sex?

That was probably written before the recent plunge in fossil fuel prices.
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  #141  
Old 11-25-2014, 12:15 PM
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Default Re: Universal Renewable Energy: Suitable Substitute for Morning Sex?

Unless you mean "yesterday's plunge in fossil fuel prices", not likely.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Moyers article
November 24, 2014
Quote:
Originally Posted by NYT article
NOV. 23, 2014
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  #142  
Old 11-25-2014, 04:27 PM
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Default Re: Universal Renewable Energy: Suitable Substitute for Morning Sex?

Publishing dates are not proof of when the article was written.
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  #143  
Old 11-25-2014, 05:45 PM
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It's the New York Times. Their standards may have fallen somewhat since the glory days, but I'm pretty sure that if the entire premise of their article was no longer accurate, they wouldn't have run it.
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  #144  
Old 11-25-2014, 05:59 PM
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Default Re: Universal Renewable Energy: Suitable Substitute for Morning Sex?

I'm sure those fossil fuel prices will be back up soon enough.
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  #145  
Old 11-25-2014, 07:00 PM
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Probably about the same time the talk of alternative energy sources being cheaper subsides, and a few of the companies that manufacture those go under.
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  #146  
Old 11-26-2014, 06:01 PM
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Default Re: Universal Renewable Energy: Suitable Substitute for Morning Sex?

Other than this thing is almost useless for most of what I do when not commuting, it will likely lead to better things in the future as more of the design concepts are incorporated into vehicles.

http://korecologic.com/

It shouldn't be too hard in the future to double or triple the mileage of a typical vehicle if we can wean ourselves from our need for acceleration. $4/gallon gas was getting us thinking. $8-10/gallon gas will probably get us moving.
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Old 11-26-2014, 06:30 PM
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I believe that most cars today, especially the ones with direct injection gasoline engines, could probably be reprogrammed to get double or maybe even triple the gas mileage they get now if people would accept '80s-era horsepower and acceleration... and highway speeds (55 mph). A 1500cc Renault powered AMC Alliance (or the hatchback Encore) got over 50 mpg in the mid '80s, so did the 1100cc Suzuki-built Geo Sprint. Now the lowliest of Toyotas and Honda cars have over twice the horsepower of either of those and are getting in the 40 mpg range despite weighing about a thousand pounds more and traveling at 20 mph faster highway speeds.

My full-sized 4x4 2011 Chevy truck shuts off half its cylinders when at a level cruise under 65 mph and gets as much as 22 mpg on the highway. I wouldn't mind if it would stay in the 4-cylinder mode more than it does, only waking up the other cylinders if the speed dropped too much or the throttle was opened significantly. I bet it could manage to get another couple mpg better. The 2015 model gets better than that and it has 55 more horsepower from the same size engine, except it is direct injection.
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  #148  
Old 11-26-2014, 07:38 PM
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Default Re: Universal Renewable Energy: Suitable Substitute for Morning Sex?

I can get 2 to 3 mpg better on average by just keeping my foot off the gas. Better when I can drive into work before/after the rush.

I tow occasionally, and was hoping to get mine in a hybrid. But I couldn't find one with both a tow package and hybrid. It would make sense too given the start off torque of an electric motor coupled with the high end of the internal combustion engine. A high efficiency regenerative braking diesel hybrid would be even better for that application.

I wouldn't doubt though that weight will continue to decrease significantly as more 3D printing gets better.
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  #149  
Old 11-26-2014, 09:00 PM
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Ford reduced the F150 by 800 pounds this year through the extensive use of aluminum. The body shops are getting schooled on what it will take to repair them if damaged, most of them have never dealt with an aluminum vehicle.

Please note, the huge fat reduction in the F150 only reduced it to about the same weight as the Chevy Silverado trucks.
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  #150  
Old 11-27-2014, 02:54 PM
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Default Re: Universal Renewable Energy: Suitable Substitute for Morning Sex?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dingfod View Post
Probably about the same time the talk of alternative energy sources being cheaper subsides, and a few of the companies that manufacture those go under.
From the link -

Quote:
According to a study by the investment banking firm Lazard, the cost of utility-scale solar energy is as low as 5.6 cents a kilowatt-hour, and wind is as low as 1.4 cents. In comparison, natural gas comes at 6.1 cents a kilowatt-hour on the low end and coal at 6.6 cents. Without subsidies, the firm’s analysis shows, solar costs about 7.2 cents a kilowatt-hour at the low end, with wind at 3.7 cents.
It's not talk. In Germany power is sometimes free, because of overabundance. Doesn't come much cheaper than free. They're getting a good slice of their energy from wind and solar by now. They've essentially replaced nuclear with wind and solar!

We're nowhere near what they've acheived. See any free power here?
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